STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — A metro Atlanta Chick-fil-A employee overpowered an armed intruder in a fight for his life.
The encounter was caught on camera by the restaurant's security camera system.
Kevin Blair said he was restocking inside the Stone Mountain Chick-fil-A on Stone Mountain Highway in the early morning of July 1.
"I'm carrying a couple boxes up towards the front to put them away," Blair explained.
Blair said as he had just cut open a pallet when he heard what sounded like a glass break.
"Which was very strange," he explained.
Gwinnett County Police said a man walked up to the drive-thru window and shattered the glass with a rock. A short time later, surveillance video shows the suspect engaging with Blair.
"The guy came up behind me with a gun," he said.
Blair said the masked gunman told him to go open the safe.
" I put my hands up in the air and walked back towards the office trying to explain I can't open the safe, I don't have access to the safe." he said.
When they got back to the office, Blair said he quickly realized how dire his situation was.
"He told me if you don't open the safe, you're going to die," Blair said, adding, "He was standing close enough to me when I decided I to fight for my life. I was able to get a hold of his hand and wrench his wrist back so he couldn't point the weapon at me."
The fight between the suspect and Blair was all caught on camera. It lasted several minutes.
"During that time he was disarmed, I broke his glasses, put my thumb into his eye and he hit me a few times," Blair explained.
He said that at a certain point, both men realized they were done, and the two stopped fighting before the suspect got away. Blair said he just wanted to get him out of the restaurant so he could call Gwinnett County Police.
He said the whole time, he could only think about his family. Blair said the one thought that kept going through his head,
"I want to see my kids," he said. "That was really it. Get through this and go see my kids."
Fortunately, Blair was able to fight his way out of the situation. He said he used several techniques from his karate classes.
"I'm grateful for the training I got from All-Star Karate in Snellville," Blair said, adding, "Spend some time and learn a few self-defense techniques."
As Blair found out, you never know when you might find yourself in a fight-or-flight situation.
On Wednesday, Gwinnett County Police announced the US Marshals arrested the suspect. He's facing several charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary in the 2nd degree, kidnapping, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and criminal damage to property in the 2nd degree.